Not in the Least
by Riddle Road
Summary: A cute little one-shot Draco/Ginny involving runes, journals, and other such interesting things.


Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. Yup. That's it.  
  
AN: Right. Uhh... I don't actually have anything t say this time. On with   
  
it!  
  
Not in the Least  
  
By: Lioness Blackfire  
  
In all honesty, I haven't the slightest clue why nobody else chose   
  
her. She was intelligent and not completely unattractive either. But it   
  
finally wound down to me and her.  
  
"Malfoy."  
  
"Weasley."  
  
"So, an-an Advanced Ancient Runes project, eh?" She stumbled over   
  
her words slightly, and I felt a smirk cross my face.  
  
"Got a stutter, Weasley?" she looked over at me in surprise.  
  
"Was that even relevant?" She fixed me with an unmoving stare as   
  
it was my turn to be surprised. "Didn't think so. Anyways, did you have   
  
any ideas what we could do this project on?" I shook my head. She rolled   
  
her amethyst-colored eyes. "Well do try to think of something. We were,   
  
after all, given the rest of the bell to come up with ideas." She paused   
  
for a breath, began to say something but seemed to change her mind at the   
  
last minute and looked back at her textbook. I mentally shrugged and decide  
  
d that she had indeed found the best course of action and opened my own   
  
book.  
  
We spent the better part of the class that way - reading our books   
  
in silence. But near the end an urge to get the project (and working with   
  
the Weasley girl) out of the way caused me to speak up.  
  
"The library."  
  
"Pardon?" she replied.  
  
"We should meet in the library to work on this. Will you be busy   
  
after dinner?" She shook her head. "Good. I'll see you." And with that, I   
  
turned back to my book. I could feel her eyes on me for quite a while   
  
after that, and it disturbed me to realize that the situation wasn't   
  
uncomfortable in the slightest. Her staring at me seemed to be the most   
  
natural thing in the world.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A large book slammed down in front of me on the table. I jumped   
  
before my mind comprehended that it was the Weasley girl.  
  
"I found this on germanic runes last year." She stated simply.   
  
"Since you never came up with an idea, I supposed it would be alright to   
  
have a go at mine."  
  
"And what could you possibly come up with, muggle-lover?" I   
  
taunted and sneered.  
  
"That exactly." She stated.  
  
"What? You aren't making-" she cut me off.  
  
"We are, for all intents and purposes, enemies. Correct, Malfoy?"  
  
"... Yes..." I wasn't really sure where this was going.  
  
"Good. You see, I was thinking that since I'd been paired up with   
  
you, of all people, that doing this project would be hell."  
  
"My sentiments exactly." She gave me a stern look and continued,  
  
"So then I realized that there are tons of runes that are supposed   
  
to create a 'peaceful atmosphere' and thought of the germanic runes book   
  
Hermoine gave me last year when she finished all the Ancient Runes classes   
  
and-"  
  
"That mudblood?" Suddenly the left side of my face was all one big   
  
hurt and a relatively calm-looking Ginny Weasley was standing over me, her   
  
bright purple eyes blazing.  
  
"If you don't mind, Malfoy, all I'm trying to do is get a decent   
  
grade on this project. I'd assume you'd like one as well. So kindly cease   
  
from insulting me and my friends until I have this explained!" she said in   
  
a low voice not very much unlike the Slytherin hiss. I sat quietly, too   
  
surprised to do anything else. When she moved to sit back down, I noticed   
  
her right hand was burning red and that's when I realized she had slapped   
  
me. She took a very controlled deep breath.  
  
"Now." she began, "The project could be how much a certain   
  
combination of runes could affect the atmosphere between two people who   
  
dislike each other very much, worn over the span of the entire project." I   
  
nodded my head for her to continue. "The two should make brief notes on   
  
his or her attitude toward the other at the end of each day. Those notes   
  
will be included with the final report but do not have to be in any   
  
particular format, nor does the other of the pair ever need to see what   
  
has been written.  
  
"The informational bit of the report could be done on the specific   
  
runes used, how they were bound, and whatnot. That work for you?" Her   
  
sudden request for approval startled me and I had to struggle for my words.  
  
"Yes. That works." She nodded and looked over at the clock.  
  
"It's getting late and I've got work for other classes." She   
  
motioned toward a shelf on the far side of the room. "There's a copy of   
  
this over there, if you'd like to take a look at any of the runes and make   
  
a suggestion." She stood and picked up the book. "Meet here tomorrow after   
  
dinner?"  
  
"Seeya then." I replied and she gave a brief smile and walked   
  
toward the exit.  
  
I ended up taking the runes book she had suggested and looking   
  
through it later that night. A few even stood out enough that I marked   
  
them to mention to the girl at our next meeting.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What are those?"  
  
"The diary-scrolls." The Weasley girl replied, brushing a strand   
  
of her copper-red hair behind an ear.  
  
"Why do we need those today?"  
  
"Because today we're going to construct the runes and begin the   
  
journals." She pulled out a short list of runes, their names marked next   
  
to them. I reached into my bag and took out my own. "What's that?"  
  
"I looked through the runes book last night." I muttered. "these   
  
seemed to be the sort of thing you were looking for." She looked at me   
  
then, her expression softened and she appeared to be genuinely surprised.   
  
Then as quickly as that came, it left and se re-composed herself as she   
  
sat across from me.  
  
"Could I see...?" she asked a bit quietly. I pushed the list   
  
toward her and she compared it to her own. "What do you say about using   
  
Othala for the uh..." she flipped through the pages of her book.   
  
"'universal folk soul and sense of togetherness'?"  
  
"Alright." I leaned forward a bit and glanced down her list. "What   
  
were you going to use that one for?" I then asked, pointing to a rune that   
  
looked like two X's stuck together at the tops, called Inguz.  
  
"Oh. Uh, as a bind rune." she glanced up at me. "And because it   
  
can provide strong foundations and room to grow, both of which would be   
  
very good in this sort of thing." she murmured something else after that,   
  
but I couldn't quite hear it, though I didn't mention anything to her.  
  
"Use that one too, then." There was a pause as she circled Othala   
  
and Inguz and looked at me, something I couldn't quite place reflected in   
  
her violet eyes.  
  
"You sure are being agreeable today." she finally stated.  
  
"Like you said yesterday, I want a good grade on this. Plus I've   
  
never used germanic runes before and it seems like you have." She began   
  
drawing the chosen runes on a sheet of scrap paper. "Suppose I was going   
  
to trust your judgment." She looked back up at me, startled.  
  
"Harry certainly doesn't ever mention you trusting anybody's   
  
judgment in potions."  
  
"You don't need to trust anybody's judgment in potions. The steps   
  
are written out for you."  
  
"Fair enough." She smiled slightly, and continued drawing the   
  
runes. Othala (which looked like Inguz but missing the top half of the   
  
uppermost X) inside Inguz, and then she glanced at me, back at her paper,   
  
and drew what looked like two sideways V's, facing in, around Othala.  
  
"What's that one, now?" She grinned outright.  
  
"You sure do ask a lot of questions." I shrugged. "It's Jera.   
  
Friendly, cyclical, generally a good feeling rune." She looked at it and   
  
nodded in a satisfied manner before speaking again. "Now we need to   
  
transfer this to the-" she stopped and rummaged through her bag   
  
frantically. "Dammit. I need to go to the supplies closet."  
  
"Forgot the blank rune necklaces?"  
  
"Yep." She stood up to get them and I followed suit. "You don't   
  
have to come." she said over her shoulder, stuffing the rune picture into   
  
a pocket.  
  
"May as well. It's my project too." We walked to the student   
  
supply closets in silence and Ginny picked out two blank cherry-wood   
  
medallions with simple strings instead of chains.  
  
The rest of the night's work went rather fast. We each burned the   
  
bound runes into the wooden charms and activated them, agreeing on meeting   
  
the following day before heading our separate ways.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ginny's Journal (Day 1):  
  
Okay, this is supposed to be short. How do I feel about Draco   
  
Malfoy... He's an arrogant git who thinks he's the center of the universe.   
  
Everything has to be the way he wants it to and if it isn't he'll ask his   
  
dad who will bribe and/or threaten the people in charge into letting him   
  
do it his own way.  
  
He did surprise me today though, by showing interest in the   
  
project. And ESPECIALLY by trusting my judgment with the runes. How he   
  
could possibly trust another person with something so important is beyond   
  
me. He did ask a lot of questions though... oh well. Maybe I knocked some   
  
sense into him with that slap.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Draco's Journal (Day 1):  
  
Brief, eh? Alright. Ginny is unerringly a Gryffindor. (that slap   
  
yesterday really proved it) Her whole family is dirt poor and are muggle   
  
lovers. Aside from that? I don't know, she's redheaded and when she stares   
  
at you it can be really unnerving (probably because her eyes are purple).   
  
But... yea I think that's it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Note: That whole rune thing was confusing, right? Sorry. I can't   
  
draw it. It's just like our dear Draco described it though. Inguz is like   
  
two X's stacked on top of each other (try drawing it if you're confused).   
  
Othala is exactly like Inguz except the top half of the uppermost X is   
  
missing. Othala is also inside the cavity of Inguz. Jera is kind of split,   
  
like two sideways V's facing inward. Like... like HTML tags! Only   
  
the tip of the first one is actually aligned with the corner of the seco  
  
nd. And those are surrounding Othala inside Inguz. Sorry that was so   
  
weird! And now to insert a time of year...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You're not even reading that, are you?" I asked Ginny during our   
  
evening session. A book in front of her was open to Jera. We had agreed   
  
that I would research Othala, she would research Jera, and we could each   
  
pick up information Inguz. But at that moment my partner was staring out   
  
the library window.  
  
"You're right. I'm not." She stood and stretched. "Would you like   
  
to study outside?" I looked up, surprised at the suggestion. "It's really   
  
very warm for early may."  
  
"Sure. I don't see why not." So we both gathered together our   
  
things and headed out to sit by the lake. "Aren't you worried what your   
  
Gryffindor friends will think if they see you with me out here?" I asked   
  
after we were settled. She looked at me and grinned ruefully.  
  
"Half of Hogwarts knows I'm paired with you for the final Ancient   
  
Runes project. They won't look twice."  
  
"Half of Hogwarts?" I asked skeptically.  
  
"Your house and mine." she replied, smiling.  
  
I looked at her then, eyes creased at the edges as she was   
  
smiling, looking out over the lake. It occurred to me that even though I   
  
intermittently insulted her, her friends, and her family that she was   
  
still quite nice to me.  
  
We spent the rest of the time actually researching what we were   
  
supposed to, and not really talking.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ginny's Journal (Day 2):  
  
We decided to go outside to work today. ... Actually, I asked if   
  
we could and he agreed. He didn't insult everyone I know as often today.   
  
Actually, he was almost nice at times. I almost don't want to admit it,   
  
but he made me smile. In fact, I almost laughed.  
  
Okay, okay, TRUTHFULLY he's rather pleasant to spend time with. In   
  
fact, I think I may bring the rest of my schoolwork with me tomorrow.   
  
Think he remembers sixth-year arinthmancy?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Draco's Journal (Day 2):  
  
She suggested going outside today. we sat by the lake and   
  
researched our assigned runes. I'm not quite sure, but I think I made her   
  
smile today. She really grinned, too, not just a little smile.  
  
I think I could get to like working with her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey." I greeted the approaching redhead.  
  
"Hey." she returned. "Find out anything new?"  
  
"Nada. You?"  
  
"Absolutely nothing." She sat down and looked out across the lake,   
  
as I was already doing.  
  
"So why didn't you find anything?" I asked without turning to see   
  
her.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing."  
  
"You could..."  
  
"And since when do you say 'nada'?" She turned to me, eyes amused   
  
and questioning. I looked over, resting my arms around my legs.  
  
"You know what? I have no idea. I don;t think I'd talk so...   
  
comfortably... around anybody else, but-"  
  
"You feel like I'm completely able to be trusted, I know." she   
  
finished my sentence for me.  
  
"And how do you-"  
  
"I feel the same way." I was, needless to say, just a little bit   
  
surprised.  
  
"But I'm a Slytherin. You're a Gryffindor. Somehow I just don't   
  
think that's done."  
  
"Same goes for me. Since when do Slytherins associate with   
  
Gryffindors?" I looked at her, and suddenly my heart was beating too fast   
  
and my breathing came too hard. Her hair was blowing in the spring breeze,   
  
falling in coppery waves down her back. She looked back over at me. "You   
  
okay?" I swallowed a lump in my throat.  
  
"Yea." I looked back out at the lake. "I guess we should start on   
  
the project again."  
  
"I guess." There was a long pause in which we both did not start   
  
working.  
  
"You don't really want to, do you?"  
  
"Not really, no. For the sake of the grade and all, but..."  
  
"Would you like to go for a walk?" She looked up at me as I stood.  
  
"Yes. I would, Draco. Thank you." We walked along the edge of the   
  
lake, covering quite a distance in an easy silence before I finally spoke.  
  
"You called me Draco?"  
  
"Well, may I? I meant to ask you, but-"  
  
"I like it." She looked curiously at me. "Everybody calls me by my   
  
surname. Calling me Draco is sort of like a... a nickname."  
  
"And you wouldn't mind if I had a nickname for you?" Her amethyst   
  
eyes were gravely serious. "I'm a little confused, Draco. How do you feel   
  
about all this?" I sighed and sat on the damp grass at the edge of the   
  
lake.  
  
"Well... it's a little hard to say. I'm perfectly fine with it   
  
all, if that's what you mean. I know this is all kind of sudden, but it   
  
doesn't seem that way to me. It kind of... well, actually I'm a little   
  
confused too." Ginny sat down directly next to me on the grass.  
  
"So what are you confused about?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Why I trust you so much, why I suddenly don't care about quite a   
  
few things I grew up being taught to care about, and why" I could feel my   
  
voice turn husky, "you didn't give up on me the very first day. That's   
  
what I'm confused about." She leaned up against me and I could feel her   
  
heart beating fast too.  
  
"Maybe we can be confused together?" A comfortable warmth spread   
  
through me, and a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. My arm came   
  
alive by itself and wrapped around her tiny waist.  
  
"I'd like that very much."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ginny's Journal (Day 3):  
  
Okay, so he's really nice. Before yesterday I wasn't even sure if   
  
he had a heart and now... now I think I'd go out with him if he asked me.   
  
We took a walk around the lake today, and talked about what's going on. We   
  
just sat there together, on the opposite side of the lake, for a long time   
  
before coming back in for curfew.  
  
We didn't really get any work done today... Eh, oh well.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Draco's Journal (Day 3):  
  
I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said today.   
  
She's possibly the most understanding person I've ever had the fortune to   
  
meet. We ended up cuddling, more or less, out on the far side of the lake   
  
for a good couple of hours this evening.  
  
There's only one more day of this project left, which means we   
  
actually have to work tomorrow because it's due on friday. I'm not really   
  
sure I want this to end. Maybe she'll agree to just doing schoolwork   
  
together some days? One will hope.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Thursday found us finishing the final Ancient Runes project in   
  
record time. After that, we went swimming in the lake and had what could   
  
be the best time of my life.  
  
"Draco?" I looked over at Ginny. She was laying in the grass next   
  
to me, her Hogwarts robe over a purple one-peice swimsuit.  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"When this is over, do you want to keep meeting?"  
  
"I wasn't sure you'd ask." She grinned, the smile lighting up her   
  
whole face.  
  
"And Draco?"  
  
"Mm-hm?"  
  
"Could you come over here?" I was a little confused (and more than   
  
a little curious) but I sat up and scooted over to her. She threw her arms   
  
around my shoulders and looked up into my eyes. Her bright purple ones   
  
searched mine and suddenly her lips pressed against my own and the purple   
  
eyes fluttered shut.  
  
My heart was beating faster than I had previously thought   
  
possible. She was the one who broke the kiss, almost gasping for air.  
  
"And would you mind if I did that more often?" she whispered.  
  
"Not in the least, Ginny. Not in the least." 


End file.
